Steel Guns of Fury
by Wolfca
Summary: Coulson and Skye are teleported back to WW2. To get back to their own time they have to trust their lives with the S.S.R. and the crew of an M24 Chaffee. First time writing time travel and set in the war. Please read and review
1. Back in Time

**Agents of SHIELD – Steel Guns of Fury**

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing

**Author's Notes: **Ok so this story idea came to me while I was playing a game called World of Tanks (If anyone plays and sees Coulson_SHIELD - that's me, sorry if I've blown you up :) ). I've decided to release it today as its the UK release of Fury and the Tiger tank supplied for the film comes from Bovington Tank Museum not too far away from me. Hope people enjoy this as its the first time I've ever done a time travel fic as well as a story set in the war. Please read and review.

I apologise for the lack of updating Gravity of Love and Skyfall. Unfortunately I haven't been feeling well and blood tests aren't showing anything yet of what they think is wrong. My work has been a little hectic recently and I've been helping doing extra work. My interest in writing has also taken a nose dive so as much as I know I have to finish the stories my interest in writing is almost non-existent. I've also been busy working on my tumblr pages (wolfca-writer, wolfca-painter and wolfca-gamer) so all in all if ive not been ill and exhausted I have been busy on other projects

Remember our fallen heroes

**Chapter 1**

It was cold, wet and a biting wintery wind blew through the pine trees. The European forest in northern Germany was isolated and far from civilisation. A man in black tactical clothes with red insignias was running through the forest, his boots crunching under the untouched snow. His breathes were laboured trying to breathe through the cold wind blowing into him. He was being chased by two people. One was a young woman of the two and was in what appeared to be custom tactical armour, a thick slightly faded black long sleeved shirt with black leather webbing designed to sit over the shoulders along with a dark grey scarf wrapped round the neck and face. Black close fitting combats and boots finished the look with a gun holster strapped to the hip. The other was an older man and was in an all-black suit and shirt. The man kept running knowing somewhere up ahead was an old bunker that he could hide in. His pursuers didn't seem to be effected by the weather around him. Their pace was constant and steady, neither fast nor slow. The slippery snow didn't seem to bother their step as they kept up while the man they were chasing fell, landing face first into the snow. He grunted against the wet cold clinging to his face as he pushed up to keep on running. His hands were almost frozen inside the thick gloves he wore; his right hand possibly had the beginnings of frostbite from holding the gun in his hand. He fired a couple of shots back, missing due to cold hands and exhaustion. Giving up he threw the gun towards his pursuers, the gun clattered against a tree near the suit barely missing before disappearing into the snow. The man groaned in frustration as he turned and fled again. He was relieved to see the small concrete bunker ahead of him, set into the rocks.

Its steel doors with the wheel turning lock, the man could only hope it wasn't frozen shut. His hands stung as he gripped the wheel, grunting in pain, his fingers feeling like any moment they would crack and snap like icicles. The wheel creaked and groaned as it turned slowly, the man's pursuers were at the edge of the trees, well within range to not miss him. Desperation was on his face as he shunted the door open, not bothering to shut it as he bolted once again down the narrow stairs. He knew if he could get into the room at the end he would be relatively safe. The suit got to the door first and fired down the stairs, missing and chipping the concrete wall and metal stairs. His companion checked behind them and was about to go down but the suit wouldn't allow her to go first. Instead he went first; much to his young companions annoyance that she kept telling him she could handle point. The suit carefully made his way down the stairs, his gun pointed forward as he crouched slightly, not knowing if his target had another weapon down here. Once they were down the stairs they saw there was only another steel door in front of them, closed. The suit was ready to open and his companion was beside him crouched down low to cover as he went to open the door. The narrow corridor left no space to hide either side of the door so they had to be ready for anything. They were both sideways making it easier to either go into the room or turn and flee back up the stairs if their target had friends inside.

The suit pushed the door open as his gun followed the door into the room, only stopping when they saw their target at the far side of large room. He looked exhausted and frustrated that he was still here. In his hand was a black device with glowing blue symbols on it. The man looked between his pursuers and the device. The young woman was already in the room coming to him clockwise round the room while the suit went the other way. They flanked him and he seemed to give up. Just as the woman got to him he pressed a button on the device. The suit fired not sure if the device was a weapon or not. The man let go of the device and stumbled backwards before collapsing to the floor, blood pooling beside him from the fatal chest wound. The woman leapt forwards catching the device, looking at it weirdly as she could faintly here the sound of energy charging up. The noise grew louder with each pulsing charge. The suit charged at her, grabbing her arm to make her drop the device but it was too late. The device and they seemed to glow as time paused. The suit just managed to turn towards the man who double fisted saluted and yelled 'Hail HYDRA!' Then everything was too bright to see. Brightness if the form of rainbow colors streaming before fading away to darkness. Both of them sunk to their knees, the suit then had a dizzy spell and fell backwards from his knees. His back hit the cold concrete floor, one knee up the other leg flicked out and hitting his partner who seemed to also be dizzy and the knock sent her forwards, landing on his outstretched leg.

They were both trying to breathe and clear their heads and let their eyes adjust to the darkness even though they were still suffering from the bright light. The young woman found the strength to roll and sit more comfortably against her partners' leg with her back against it before struggling to lift a hand and placed it on his knee that was up.

"You ok Coulson?" She asked wanting to turn round but her head didn't trust her neck just yet.

The black suited Coulson gave a breathily chuckle before placing his own hand overs hers to reassure her.

"I will be, how about you Skye?" Coulson replied as he still couldn't engage his brain to start puzzling over what had just happened without feeling pain and nauseous.

"Give me several shots of tequila then my maybe my body will have a reason to feel like this." Skye replied as she pushed on his knee to try and sit up some more but gave up.

Coulson chuckled back knowing the feeling. Coulson lifted his head up enough to look down at her seeing her rub her eyes before pinching the bridge of her nose. He could feel the dizziness return in the back of his eyes so placed his head back down.

"Let's wait this out. If we were in danger we would be dead by now." Coulson told her amazed he even managed a long sentence.

"What happened to us?" Skye groaned as she rubbed the side of her temple.

Coulson didn't reply for a while, his head was still hurting.

"Give me a couple of minutes." Coulson finally replied.

"That's no fun." Skye chimed back and Coulson could pick up the flirty undertones.

Coulson smiled knowing it was highly inappropriate behavior between an agent and a fellow agent and director but they had been saying the odd flirt and given the odd look every now and then.

"Get used to it." Coulson replied back smiling wondering what witty comment she would come up then.

It didn't take Skye long.

"Is that an invite?" Skye asked and Coulson was now more aware that she was lying against his leg, her head dangerously close to his groin and her hand still on his knee.

He hadn't expected that response and that fast. He went into defensive mode knowing he shouldn't be encouraging her further now. He rolled his eyes and shook his head. Skye had seen and kept a half smile on her face as she started taking in their surroundings. It all looked the same except less dusty as if it was relatively new. The HYDRA agent they had been following was also gone alone with the pool of blood that had formed from his gun shot. What remained of her smile faded as she began to feel like they were both in danger. The missing injured agent also hadn't escaped Coulson's notice as he looked around him noting the recent feeling to the place. Slowly they both got up and Coulson leant heavily on the table while placing a hand on Skye's shoulder as she was leant forward, her hands on her knees facing the ground as it standing completely upright was making her too sick. After a few minutes both of them felt strong enough to stand up and began walking out of the room and back up the stairs. This time Skye went first and Coulson didn't disagree, he wasn't in an argument mood but he kept a hand put in front of him to catch her if she fell.

Skye opened the door and she noticed that their footprints had disappeared from the snow. In fact there was no snow at all but the air was still chilly. Coulson raised an eyebrow noticing the missing white glare as he looked around at the trees. Though they were mostly pines there was the odd tree that was a seasonal tree, noting that some of them the leaves looked like they were on fire while others looked moth eaten with fallen leaves. This confused him more as it was clearly winter when they pursed the HYDRA agent here but now it was looking like late autumn nearly winter with the biting wind blowing through.

"Coulson, where are we?" Skye asked still confused as the place was the same but at the same time wasn't.

Coulson opened his mouth to say something when in the far distance they picked up a siren, an old air raid siren from around 70 years ago. The noise was filled with rumbling and booming of large guns.

"I think the real question is 'when'." Coulson replied as looked around him and listened more.

"What do you mean?" Skye asked looking in the direction of the siren and back to him.

"That siren hasn't been used in these parts since World War Two. That rumbling and gun fire sounds like tanks to me." Coulson replied trying to piece it together even though the answer was absurd.

"World War Two? We've gone back in time to World War Two?" Skye asked as she spun round to face him, gripping his forearm tightly, and shock evident on her face.

Coulson gritted his teeth under the grip and it wasn't until his fingers touched hers that she seemed to shake herself out of her stupor and let him go with a quiet apology. The initial shock of potentially being teleported back in time was slowly fading as more sounds around them seemed to confirm their suspicions. Plus when they had first arrived here they were the only ones here. The rest of the team was on the Bus which was parked miles away had lost their signal in the dense trees and mountains. Skye began to feel the bite of the wind but did her best not to let it show. However Coulson's eyes were still sharp enough to notice the small shiver.

"Cold?" Coulson asked her.

"Well I wasn't expecting to be stuck here for god knows how long. In fact I was hoping to be back in my bunk with a hot chocolate by now." Skye replied as she hugged herself, rubbing her arms to try and hold back the chill.

"I have to admit. I've never heard of any such tech like this. Time travel isn't something they cover in training." Coulson admitted looking around him again as there was an explosion not too far away.

Skye just nodding, hugging herself more not sure how they were going to get out of this mess.

"If we really have been sent back in time the Bus won't be where it was left." Coulson said as he got his bearings and started walking off in the direction the Bus was.

Skye just shrugged as she followed figuring it made sense. Skye jogged to come up beside him, the pair were constantly stopping as the sounds of trees splitting and crunching under sheer weight and gunfire surrounded them. There was the occasional sound of the ground exploding from impact of a missile but it was the sounds of metal being hit, men screaming and the explosion of steel following causing silence for a few moments before there was the ominous rumble and screech of metal treads rolling on looking for its next target in the trees. Coulson ran towards the cover of a large rock and Skye followed as they both crouched behind it. Skye was beside him but Coulson tugged her more into the rock, guns drawn knowing they would be useless against any vehicle coming towards them but the weight in their hands was reassurance that they had some sort of defense. A rumble was getting closer to them as slowly from the other side of the large rock they were hiding behind; they saw the tracks one by one rolling forward into view. The rest of the tank slowly came into view on their left, thankfully its turret pointing backwards as it fired a shot. The noise this close was loud and both Coulson and Skye covered their ears to no effect from the ringing reverberating off the rock. Just as they recovered from the noise the tank began to roll forwards but before it could go any further it was hit in the track on the far side. Coulson leapt at Skye pushing her into their hiding place and clamping a strong hand over her mouth to stifle a scream of fright. The turret was already turning and fired a shot, blowing up the enemy tank. It tried to roll forward but they were stuck, the track that had been hit wouldn't move. Coulson knew the men inside would soon be opening the hatch to investigate. Coulson took the moment to look over the tank hoping to see some sort of identification mark that would say it was friend or foe as the metal screech of the top hatch opened as the first man began to climb out of his immobilized vehicle. Coulson could feel Skye struggle beside him as he let go of her as she took some steadying breaths, holding her gun ready, Coulson was also doing the same still trying to find some sort of mark in amongst all the dents, scuffs and mud on the tank.


	2. Meeting the Chaffee

**Author's Note: **

Thank you to Alisha Winchester Collins, firerosedreamer67, courntey1 and JessiePie6 for your reviews. I'm sorry I haven't undated this as quick as I was hoping but I haven't been feeling very well and after the trip to the doctor this morning it's all boiled down to depression.

Once again this story is inspired by the film Fury and the online game World of Tanks, especially my own M24 Chaffee which has Captain America written down the side of her turret. Very funny when your player name is Coulsons_SHIELD and you enter a match and one of my allies was called Captain America and an enemy called garrett. Needless to say, we won and both survived except garret, who got taken out by us lol.

If your are still enjoying this then please leave a comment below

Remember our Fallen Heroes

**Chapter 2**

For Coulson and Skye it was a tense few moments as they could hear the hatch open and Coulson was still trying to figure out if it was friend or foe. It looked like most of its markings were either sprayed over or covered in muck. As he watched the top the turret he suddenly saw a small emblem on its side near the gun and let out a slow breath as he recognised the fading white eagle as the first S.H.I.E.L.D. logo from its founder the Strategic Scientific Reserves.

"I think we need to get out of here." Skye said as she looked around them.

Skye figured she might be able to get on the other side of the rock from the tank but she could still hear rumbling from other tanks. She was looking through the trees trying to see any sign of a tank treads or barrel rolling through.

"How about that device?" Coulson asked.

Skye pulled the device out of her pocket and after tapping it and pressing it all over nothing worked.

"Guess it's out of power." Skye replied.

Coulson cursed on his breath. He couldn't believe he hadn't thought to try it when they had got here. It was too late to run now as the hatch was opened and the first crewmen was already scanning the area, his pistol drawn looking for any sign of danger. He was white and looked very young, possibly only just finished training and was sent out to the lines. He was looking straight at them, his smoke and greased covered face showed he had been working in this tank for some time. He swiped at his goggles, clearing a smudge which was enough to move them to show his true skin tone underneath.

"Who are you? Identify yourselves!" The man ordered pointing the gun at them.

Inside, Coulson could hear the other crewmen barking wanting to know what was going on. The track may have stopped the tank but it didn't stop the turret as the crewmen inside turned to face Coulson and Skye. They both backed up not liking the fact they were almost point blank range to barrel of a tank. The gunner only needed to squeeze the trigger and there would be nothing left of them except a crater. Coulson had to think fast as SHIELD was slowing being formed around this period and he didn't know if it would hold much sway with these battle weary men. Coulson focussed on the one person he could who was still pointing the pistol at them. It was slightly shaking in his hands and Coulson couldn't see his eyes clearly to tell if it's just from battle or if he was hesitant to kill them in this way.

"My name is Coulson. I'm with SHIELD. This is my partner, Skye." Coulson finally answered.

The man with the pistol looked down back into the tank, bending in such a way that his arms were still out of the tank but he could hide his face from them and talk to the men inside. Even though they were whispering, the metal shell of the tanks seemed to echo as they tried to decide if they had been told a truth or lie. The pistol man stood up again.

"How do we know you're really SHIELD and not HYDRA?" He asked them.

Skye knew she should have held her tongue back but she couldn't stop herself.

"I'd rather be dead then be a Nazi egocentric bastard." Skye spat back.

She knew her mouth had run ahead of her and she could hear Coulson groan as he looked back at the barrel of the tank wondering if he would see the flash of trigger igniting the shells propellant. They could hear laughter from within the tank and the young man was seemingly yanked down back into the tank as a new face appeared. Coulson recognised him from old files as 'Dum Dum' Dugan, a Howling Commando. It took all of Coulson's concentration to not geek out right there. Dugan leaned casually at the hatch entrance and regarded the pair, a smile on his face. He pointed at Coulson first.

"You seem the SHIELD sort, very serious and business like," Then Dugan turned to point at Skye, "You I like. Free spirited young woman. Now I assume you have some sort of identification."

Coulson knew they couldn't hand over anything as one look at the dates and they were busted.

"Sorry we don't." Coulson replied.

Skye understood why they couldn't hand over their badges.

"Of course you don't." Dugan replied, looking down and biting his lip as if trying to weigh up his options.

"Sir, we need to get this tank moving again before we're seen." A crewman from inside spoke up.

Just then the rock was hit from the other side that Skye and Coulson were stood. They both dropped to the floor, Coulson covered Skye, as shards of rock flew over them.

"Contact!" Dugan yelled as he turned towards the shot to try and see what had fired.

Through the trees he could just make out the re-painted HYDRA Tiger tank. The red HYDRA emblem easy to spot on its sides. Dugan jumped out and moved towards Coulson and Skye as they stood up, dusting themselves off. The gunner and loader were still inside the tank and got to work turning the turret and aiming for the Tiger. With a mighty boom, Dugan's tank fired downwards towards the Tiger. The shot hit home and the Tiger moved with the impact. It wasn't long after when they could hear men screaming in German and climbing out of the Tiger, flames following them out of the hatch.

"Nice shot, their engine took a good hit." Dugan commented before turning his attention back to Coulson and Skye.

They didn't hold his attention for long when a blue bolt flew over them, thankfully missing them. This time Coulson reacted knowing it was going to take the crew time to turn the turret back to the side. Coulson peered round the front of the tank and now looking at it from this angle was able to realise this was an M24 Chaffee. A light tank designed for scouting and ambushing weakened tanks. The forest would be its home but with its crippled track that they still didn't know what was wrong with it, she was a vulnerable machine. Coulson spotted the shooter and fired a couple of rounds, causing the man to duck back behind a tree. The turret was facing the man and let loose another shell, splitting the tree as well as exploding right where the man was hiding. Even if he was knocked back from the blast and somehow survived, the remaining tree would have flattened him as it toppled and fell to the ground. More shouts from the area told them that there were more men from that direction.

"Ok we have got to get this girl moving. Now I don't trust you but you're shooting them and that's good enough for me until we can sort you out." Dugan told Coulson.

Coulson nodded as he got to work watching for more men, Skye stood behind him.

"Skye watch the other side. We don't want to be flanked." Coulson told her and she moved back over to the rock and watched.

The rest of the tank crew disembarked and Coulson could tell from photos that Dugan was the only Howling Commando currently present. They looked all along the track before finally finding the problem at the front wheel. The shell casing had dislodged the track; it was half on half off the wheel. The track links were weakened and threatened to break if more pressure was added.

"Can we still drive with it?" Dugan asked.

"We can try and see if with enough power it'll move, re-align the track, but if it does, we can't stop until we reach camp." One of the men answered.

He was African-American by his looks and he climbed back into the Chaffee, starting up her engine and tried to push her forward. She wouldn't budge. He tried in any direction but the wheel wouldn't turn, the track was too out of place to grip it with its cog teeth.

"Oh it's no use, she's gone." Another crewman spoke up.

He had pale complexion and dirty blonde hair colour with hazel eyes.

"Button it Larkin's!" Dugan told him.

"Come on sir, if we can't fix her track we're dead out here." Another man spoke up.

Dugan was about to reply but the driver popped his head up from the drivers hatch and tossed out some crowbars.

"This tank is our home. She has protected us from enemy fire and taken a pounding. Now it's our turn to defend her, our home on the battlefield." The driver spoke to them.

They all picked up a crowbar, including Coulson as they all used them to get a good grip on the track and pulled back as the driver once again turned the track speaking to the tank as if it would help coax the track into place. The metal groaned and they all began to fear the links would break under the strain but kept pulling. They could feel it moving agonising slow. Skye yelled a warning as she spotted someone behind them. Coulson glanced a look behind and could see the man in the old HYDRA uniform of black leather full body suit and goggles. In his hands he could just make out the blue energy gun that HYDRA had first built when they first had the Tesseract. The thought of the Tesseract momentarily distracted him and he didn't realise the track suddenly jolt back into place. All the men fell backwards as Coulson let go of the crowbar sending it flying backwards and impaling through the Tesseract gun and the agent was pinned to the tree. He was yelling as the gun exploded, lighting up a considerable about of the forest and setting a portion on fire. Coulson got up and watched the enemy moving, now exposed just as Dugan slapped his shoulder.

"Now I like you." Dugan told him smiling as he had watched the crowbar fly.

"Thanks but we have got to move. I spotted another Tiger up on that ridge" Coulson told him.

The men rushed to climb into the tank. They heard a gunshot and Larkin's went down, clutching at his shoulder and neck. Coulson and Skye helped lift him up and the rest of the crew helped get him inside the tank. Coulson got Skye to climb in first then followed. It was a tight squeeze and Coulson had to remain in the gunner position.

"Shouldn't the gunner be here?" Coulson asked.

Skye had taken off her scarf and was using it press against Larkin's injury.

"Yeah that would be Larkin's." Dugan piped up as he was helping Skye with him.

"Can you give me a quick rundown of the controls? I'm a pretty good marksman with a gun." Coulson offered his help as the tank lurched forward.

Dugan did and it took Coulson a little while to get use to the speed of the turret turning but his other problem was trees. The tree trucks were too wide and would easily smash the barrel or bend it, rending it useless. The driver pushed the twin Cadillac engines to their limit as the Chaffee wove her way through the trees. A ping off the rear and Coulson knew the enemy was behind them. Timing it right, he managed to swing the turret round and lowered the barrel. The small jeep couldn't hit the brakes in time before he exploded.

"Enslow! Re-load that gun now!" Dugan yelled and the man that had spoken after Larkin's got to work quickly ejecting the spent shell case and loading in another.

With a tap on Coulson's leg, he knew he was ready to fire again. Coulson was impressed with the speed of re-loading. Skye could barely hear. Her ears were ringing from the gun fire. She thought it was loud outside the tank but inside the noise just vibrated off the walls continuously. Larkin's was slipping away no matter how much pressure she applied to the wound. Another jeep came into view but Coulson didn't fire, it was crossing his path. Coulson's view was blocked by dirt flung up from a shell explosion just behind them.

"That Tiger is hunting us!" a small man said in his corner and Skye guessed he was the radio man.

The Tiger lined up another shot and fired just as the Chaffee got to the top of a high ridge.


	3. Salute for the Fallen

**A/N:**

Thanks to Alisha Winchester Collins for the review. I'm sorry if the army talk is confusing, I just hope you can all still understand what is going on.

Sorry this is a short chapter and I intended to post this yesterday, however I felt quite poorly by the time I finished work and before I knew it, my alarm was going for the next day to start when last I saw the time it was early evening.

**Words for Remembrance Day - The words of Laurence Binyon.**

_They shall grow not old_

_They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:  
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.  
At the going down of the sun and in the morning  
We will remember them._

**Chapter 3**

Time seemed to stop still on bated breath. The whole forest seemed to pause, moving at a fraction of a second per minute. An oak leaf fell and slowly dropped to the ground between the two metal monsters. One big and black the other green and smaller. The black tank was stopped, its 88mm gun slowly rising, aiming for the thin rear armour of the fleeing Chaffee.

Inside the Chaffee the drivers face slowly turned into a grimaced as his yell to the tank to move was distorted. The loader slowly dropped to the floor as if it would be safer then standing next to armed shells. The radio operator's voice was also distorted as he frantically relayed information. Skye could see his lips moving so slowly it was like they had all been sucked into a black hole. Larkin's who was slipping away now seemed trapped between life and death. 'Dum Dum' Dugan was also yelling some obscenities to the HYDRA Tiger behind them. Slowly Skye peered up into the gunners seat. There was her boss, the Director of present day SHIELD, Agent Phil Coulson sitting calmly or so it seemed. His fingers on the trigger of the massive 75mm gun, aiming at the Tiger who was surely lining them up for an easy kill. A drop of sweat rolled down his forehead and his cheek. Skye could just see Coulson's watch peek out from under his suit and watched as the second hand moved so slowly she wondered if it had moved at all, timing the drop as it rolled down Coulson face.

With a boom, the Chaffee had fired. The barrel recoiled as a result, fire spewing from the muzzle. Out of the flames a single shell spun and homed towards its target. A small slit viewport at the front of the tank. The HYDRA driver could only watch in motion as the impending shell pierced through the armour and then him before detonating. The resulting confusion was enough to force their gunner to fire in response. The returning shell came towards them. The Chaffee was now pointing the hill and with her 18tons of weight behind her the decent would be quick. The tracks kicking up dirt behind her as it found new grip. Coulson dove down out of the turret as time sped back to normal. The Tiger's shell took out the machine gun mounted on top of the turret. The whole crew was silently cheering but mainly getting their breath back as if the last time they had taken a breath was five minutes ago. Dugan clapped Coulson on the shoulder nearly sending him sprawling across the cramped floor of the tank.

"Good shot. I owe you a drink." Dugan commented to him smiling.

Coulson nodded even though inside he was squealing at the chance to have a drink with a legendary Howling Commando. The Chaffee drove on like the bats of hell were behind her. There were no hits to them, no explosions, no noise except the tracks smashing through the undergrowth and the roar of the engine. Normal noises for a tank, except for the gurgling from an injured crew member. Skye pressed harder against the wound trying desperately to save Larkin's life but it slipped away, there was nothing more she could do. Dugan tried to get her to stop but she refused. It was only Coulson's hand on her arm that made her pause and pull back. Larkin's didn't make it. The Chaffee crew looked all around them and couldn't see any enemy. The driver stopped the tank as they moved Larkin's body to the back of the tank and covered his body in a blanket. The loader loaded a shell into the cannon as they all stood outside the Chaffee, hats off. Coulson and Skye stood behind them. They knew what this meant to the men. One of their own was dead. Dugan asked Coulson to fire the shell but he refused, this wasn't his place. He was honored by the chance but Larkin's was there battle brother. Dugan nodded as he climbed into the turret, his head sticking out of the hatch as he pulled out a pocket compass and turned the turret westwards, towards America even though they were in Germany. The barrel pointed upwards in salute as the men and even Coulson and Skye did the same despite they weren't military but they understand comradeship even within SHIELD. Dugan pulled the trigger and the shell flew homewards. They stayed silent for a couple of minutes before solemnly climbing back into the Chaffee and headed towards their base.


	4. Meeting Carter

**A/N:**

Thanks to Alisha Winchester Collins, JessiePie6, Skyeward MusicLover, SwingingOnAStar and firerosedreamer67 for your reviews.

I'm sorry for the late update. It's taken a long time to even consider writing this chapter and even after reading it so many times I still feel like its wrong somewhere. If I have messed it up I'm sure you'll tell me in a review :)

**Chapter 4**

The Chaffee and her crew cruised along a dirt track. It wasn't too bumpy thankfully and any that it did go over the suspension allowed the tank to slightly rock back and forth or side to side. Coulson was back in the gunner's seat with the hatch open so he could look around. Skye felt like she was being watched down with the crew. She couldn't blame them; they didn't look like people from their time. Well Coulson could get away from a distance but on close inspection the material of his suit was a dead giveaway. Skye turned to face Dum Dum Dugan and mentioned she needed to get some air. He just nodded and motioned to the ladder she had climbed to get in. It was now Skye realized that the ladder was next to the gunner seat. She climbed up and opened the commander's hatch. As she stepped up to sit on the edge of the hatch, Coulson watched her. The Chaffee was going along at a steady 25kph to conserve what fuel was left to get back to base. After a few moments Coulson let out a sigh as he leaned back against the edge of the gunner's hatch, the rocking of the tank rocking him gently side to side as he listened to the twin engines purring behind him. Skye took a look around her before climbing completely out of the hatch. The Chaffee was still in motion and Coulson watched her, ready to catch her. Skye carefully balanced herself to shut the hatch to sit more comfortably with her legs outstretched on top of the turret, bracing her feet against the gun shield and holding the edge of the gunners hatch.

"I was getting cramped in there." Skye tried to lighten the mood.

Coulson just gave a weak half smile. He looked around him into the forest that was the same but not the same. The vehicle he was currently in was destroyed, scraped or stuck in someone's vehicle collection or museum. He knew they shouldn't be here and every moment they were here they were possibly altering time back home. Coulson heard a knock on metal from below. Frowning he looked down before slowly retreating down back into the seat. The driver was still going but Coulson could tell from his slightly slumped posture that he was drained. He must have been driving for hours, possibly days even waiting in amongst the trees gathering enemy intelligence. Enslow the loader and co-driver was lying with his back against the second driver's seat and his feet resting on top of the ammo racks. The young radio man called Clarke was sat at his station. Coulson had noticed his left hand always shock and he blinked a lot. Tinkering with the radio seemed to calm him. In a lot of ways he reminded him of Fitz back home. 'Dum Dum' Dugan was squeezed into the small space beside the gunner's seat and with his back to the commanders hatch ladder. His trademark bowler's hat in his lap

"We're approaching the base. 10 miles out." He told him.

Coulson nodded noting that Larkin's death had injured their sense to carry on. Their only hope was that they were nearly back to the base where they could rest. Coulson climbed back up to find Skye now lying back on top of the turret her eyes closed for a bit. Coulson placed a gentle hand on her arm as she slowly opened her eyes.

"We're nearly there. Best get back inside." Coulson told her.

Skye nodded as she sat up and prepared to get back into the tank. Coulson's touch tightened making Skye frown as she regarded him. Coulson looked down into the tank then down to the engine before leaning closer to her.

"Just be careful what you say." Coulson warned before letting her go.

Skye knew what he meant but that didn't stop her from frowning at him as she lifted the hatch and watched him descend into the gunner's seat. Skye followed down the commander's hatch, Dugan had moved out of the way. Once Skye was out of the way he climbed up the ladder and looked out of the hatch, resting both his arms either side of the hatchway. Coulson remained in the gunner's seat while Skye moved round and stood between the side of the tank and Coulson. The Chaffee slowed down as it approached the gate. Dugan bellowed his identity to the guardsman who waved him through. Coulson peered down the sight. He couldn't see much to his right as the barrel of the gun was in the way but he could tell it was a temporary set up base. Tents of all different sizes fitted between the trees. Each tent had its own purpose from command to radar. Cheers were heard as the Chaffee drove through.

"Can I see?" Skye asked beside him.

It took a lot of maneuvering as the gunner's seat wasn't the most comfortable of seat but in the end, Skye managed to squeeze herself between and the controls, careful to not touch them in case she accidently rotated the turret or fired. Even though Coulson was sure there were no shells in the gun. Dugan had peered inside and had to smile at the pair and how close they were. In the end Coulson was getting even more uncomfortable so had to stand up in the hatchway. Dugan noticed but didn't say anything. Peering down inside again, Skye had taken advantage of the extra space; Coulson's knees were either side of her shoulders.

"Nice girl." Dugan said leaning over to Coulson.

"Yes she is." Coulson replied, glancing briefly down at Skye wondering why he let her be so close to him.

Dugan kept a smile on his face as the Chaffee kept going through the camp, heading for a large covered area with other vehicles hidden underneath.

"You are one lucky man." Dugan said chuckling.

Coulson now got what he meant, his eyes wide.

"Oh no, we're not like that." Coulson quickly replied.

"Really? She available then?" Dugan asked clearly finding Coulson's reaction amusing.

"I can hear you two you know." Skye's voice came up causing both men to blush a little and the men inside to let out what sounded like a rare laugh.

The Chaffee was parked up and the engines turned off. Dugan was first out, followed by the driver who Coulson still hadn't learnt his name, the man kept quiet and just gave a stare that seemed too familiar to Coulson that was both frightening and comforting as if he was face to face with an old friend. Next Clarke stepped up to the ladder but his ticking seemed to return as if he had forgotten something. Next thing Coulson and Skye knew he pushed past them and grabbed something from his station and stuffed it into his jacket before exiting the tank. Coulson was ever the gentleman and let Skye climb up first before following.

Once they were outside and on the ground, Coulson was surprised there weren't armed guards surrounding them already, instead there weren't many people around. A familiar face to Coulson was walking towards them and it was clear they had demanded the absence of personnel. Agent Peggy Carter. Coulson could tell from the way she moved that she was a strong woman fighting to prove herself in a male dominated world. Dugan approached and exchanged a few quiet words before Agent Carter faced them. She looked them up and down; Skye got more attention than he did, possibly because of her clothes.

"I think it's best if you come with me." Agent Carter told them as she spun round and headed off.

The Chaffee crew said nothing and wandered away to find the mechanic to report the damage done to their tank. Dugan was going to follow Carter but headed towards the food tent, thinking he needed a drink of sorts.

All eyes turned on the strange pair walking behind Carter. Some eyes looked at them as if they thought Carter was mad for letting HYDRA agents walk in like that. Once Carter got to her office tent she gave a look around the camp before shutting the flap. The whole camp carried on about their business prepping for an assault when Intel gave them a location. Skye stood slightly uncomfortable as she looked around the dimly lit tent while Coulson stood to attention, his hands held in front of him. Carter gave them one last look before sitting on the edge of her desk, arms folded across her chest.

"Ok I don't care who you are or where you from. I'm not stupid I know you don't belong in this time line." Carter was quiet blunt and to the point.

Skye looked a little shocked as she looked between Carter and Coulson. Coulson didn't flinch so Skye being Skye spoke up.

"Wait how do you know that?" Skye asked her.

Carter gave a weak smile as if Skye had answered her own question.

"My dear I can tell from your clothing. I can even tell from the way your friend here is looking at me. Clearly from your time I'm known well enough." Carter replied.

Coulson's face dropped. As much as his thoughts were about maintaining the timeline he guessed his eyes and face had given the game up that he was fanboying again. Letting out a sigh Coulson decided he had to say something.

"I can't lie. Its truth. We are from the future. We're currently trapped here after the device that brought us here stopped working. I understand as much as you are aware of that us being here is affecting the timeline that we know. But the truth is we need help to get back." Coulson explained.

Carter let out a sigh of her own.

"Well I guess introduction are in order even if you know me, even if it is a face and name. I'm Agent Peggy Carter." Carter introduced herself.

"This is Skye and I'm…" Coulson began.

"AC." Skye finished.

Carter looked between the two noting Skye smile and Coulson was a little miffed at the interruption.

"Fine I don't need real names as you are right. I can't document you ever being here to preserve whatever timeline there is. This device, do you have it?" Carter asked them.

Skye pulled it out of a pocket from her special tactical vest. Carter couldn't help but notice that the clothing was more advanced and practical then what her agents and soldiers outside were wearing. Skye placed the device on the table beside her and Carter stood up to turn to face the object, careful to not touch it as she used a pen to push it around.

"I'm sorry to say but I've never seen anything like it. Best hopes are if I can contact Mr. Stark to look it." Carter said as she turned back round.

"Stark as in…" Skye started but before she could finish Coulson and leapt to her side and clamped a hand across her mouth.

His large hand completely covered her mouth and most of her lower face, immobilizing her movement. She tried to fight his grip but he wouldn't move.

"I'm sorry but can I have a private word with my partner here." Coulson said sounding serious.

Carter nodded and left the tent. Coulson watched her leave, holding Skye tight against him until he was sure she had left but still kept his voice in an angry whisper.

"Skye! Seriously you can't say anything here." Coulson said to her letting her go, ignoring her fist hitting his arm.

"Oh I can't say anything but you can say we're from the future." Skye replied in the same voice, her breathing erratic.

Coulson knew she didn't like being pinned but he had to stop her quickly.

"That's as much as I can say so we understand that thin line between maintaining and breaking the timeline." Coulson was clearly annoyed still, "Skye we can't tell them anything that we know. We can't say anything about HYDRA infiltrating SHIELD. We can't say Captain America is alive. Nothing Skye."

"But if we told them all this, think of how many lives could be saved. Captain America could be found a lot sooner." Skye said, anger leaving her voice slightly.

"No! Everything happens for a reason. We can't change it." Coulson snapped, his voice went slightly louder than a whisper but its effect was enough.

Skye shrank away. Coulson could tell he may have been a bit too aggressive here.

"I understand you want to help save lives but please Skye. Not a word to anyone." Coulson said a lot calmer and friendlier to her.

Skye just nodded like a scolded child. Coulson mentally kicked himself for being too harsh to her.

"So what's the plan, sir?" Skye asked switching to soldier mode, even standing to attention.

It wasn't lost on Coulson and he wondered when it was she had become the woman before him and not the young hacker from when he first met her. From knowing as much about Skye as he could to hardly knowing her in a few months.

"We need to get home and soon." Coulson told her.

Agent Carter had returned after chatting to the tank crew.

"It seems you two have made an impression on them. I think to reduce impact to this timeline it might be best if the only ones you interact with are them and me. But right now I need to deal with the death of Larkin's and give the crew the rest they need. I've spoken to Dugan and he'll show you to a tent to stay in. I'm sorry it's not much…" Cater began.

"No its fine. I understand that we're a drain on your valuable resources. Yes we can't share any information but we are willing to offer our skills to help." Coulson offered

Carter nodded and let them leave. Dugan was waiting outside and showed them to their tent which was on the outskirts of the main sleeping area but not too far away to be unsafe. He pointed out the other facilities and after a small hot meal they both retired to their tent. It was a simple two-man tent and Coulson could tell they would be sleeping very close to each other. The only bedding was a pile of spare blankets and sleeping bags. They sorted out the bedding and sat down on top of them. Coulson was feeling too tall for it so ended up lying down. Skye didn't like looking down at him, in fact their slight argument played back in her mind and she lay down to sleep, getting under the blankets and putting her back to him. Coulson did the same but faced Skye feeling guilt rise in him for being harsh again with her.

After an hour of trying to sleep he could feel her shivering beside him. He opened one eye and even in the darkness could see she was curled up in a ball. His sleep filled mind remembered she was only in her tactical gear. Their initial mission was supposed to be simple enough she didn't need to worry about extra layers. Coulson was still in his all black suit. Carefully he sat up, still bleary eyed as he took off his jacket and laid it over Skye as an extra blanket. He lay back down and tried to sleep again. However, Skye was still shivering. Opening one eye once again he shuffled closer to Skye and before she could react he had wrapped an arm around her and pulled her flush against him. Coulson nearly shivered himself at how cold her small body was against him. Skye wasn't sure what to do as Coulson pulled her even closer, even putting a leg over Skye's and wrapping her up against his body.

"So warm." Skye finally muttered as his body heat broke the cold enough to speak.

"Just go to sleep." Coulson muttered as he closed his eye.

It was silent for a few moments before Skye spoke up.

"Sir?" Skye began.

"Lose the sir here." Coulson growled.

"AC. If the device can't be fixed then how are we getting home?" Skye asked.

The thought had been playing on her mind for some time. Coulson let out a sigh before opening both eyes and stared into the back of her head.

"I guess it's the long way home. I'll stay with you for as long I can but I'm afraid you'll make it home alone." Coulson replied feeling his age.

Skye sniffled beside him.

"Hey it's ok. You'll probably enjoy the last few decades without me around." Coulson replied trying to lighten the mood.

"I've missed you the last few months let alone years." Skye muttered and Coulson just let it slide.

The conversion was somber as it was. Silence fell between them as the thought of the fact that by the time they reached even a time close to the one they had left behind they would be old or even possibly dead from age. Skye shuffled closer into Coulson the thought of being alone sinking in.

"AC?" Skye asked quietly.

"Yes Skye?" Coulson replied quietly wondering what else was troubling her.

"Can we find out what happened to my parents? You know go there on that day?" Skye asked.

"As I said we can't interfere. No matter how horrible those events might be, we can only watch but yes. If only to give you peace of mind…" Coulson paused.

He didn't want to say it.

"Before I die of old age." Skye finished.

Coulson wasn't sure why he did it but he moved closer, lifting himself up slightly, enough to give Skye a kiss on the cheek.

"Don't worry about it and please go to sleep now." Coulson told her as he settled down and closed his eyes.

Skye listened for a while, listening to Coulson breath. Outside she could many of the soldiers snoring but otherwise it was quiet. Skye listened more to Coulson, his breathing was so steady in his sleep she was glad he didn't snore even though she could hear him take in deep breaths. His steady breath, calmness in his sleep and his warmth soon sent Skye asleep as she closed her eyes and threaded her fingers between Coulson's. Skye was asleep and missed the sleepy sigh from Coulson as his fingers closed round her hand subconsciously protecting her.


End file.
